Research Unit for Active Living, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark.
Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Transl Behav Med. 2021 Mar 16;11(2):582-596. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibaa004.
Using neighborhood open spaces (NOS) may be an easy way for older adults to maintain healthy aging through physical activity and social interaction. Little is known about older adults' use of NOS, their preferences, and barriers to using them. This paper presents older adults' use of NOS in a deprived neighborhood before and after an intervention and factors promoting or inhibiting their use using convergent mixed methods design. Participatory research was employed involving older adults in the intervention. The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities was used to observe older adults' use of 13 NOS in spring 2017 (baseline) and spring 2018 (follow-up). Ten interviews were conducted in 2018 to identify barriers and facilitators for using NOS. Two NOS had a pavilion built and, in one NOS, benches were renovated, including building raised flower beds and small tables. At baseline, 209 older adults were observed, whereas 329 were observed at follow-up. More (44%) older adults were observed at follow-up in the NOS with the renovated benches. No use of the two pavilions was observed. The interviews identified six factors important for older adults' use of NOS: weather, support for social caretakers, support for resourceful volunteers, organized activities, social interaction, and sense of ownership. Organizational resources, such as social caretakers and volunteers, are important to promote older adults' use of NOS. Social interaction is a key factor for older adults' use of NOS and should be prioritized by health promoters.
利用邻里开放空间（NOS）可能是老年人通过体育活动和社会互动保持健康老龄化的一种简单方式。目前对于老年人对 NOS 的使用情况、他们的偏好以及使用 NOS 的障碍知之甚少。本文介绍了在干预前后，老年人在贫困社区中对 NOS 的使用情况，以及使用 NOS 的促进因素和抑制因素，采用了收敛混合方法设计。参与式研究涉及了干预中的老年人。使用社区娱乐观察系统（System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities）来观察老年人在 2017 年春季（基线）和 2018 年春季（随访）期间对 13 个 NOS 的使用情况。2018 年进行了 10 次访谈，以确定使用 NOS 的障碍和促进因素。两个 NOS 建造了亭子，在一个 NOS 中，长椅进行了翻新，包括建造凸起的花坛和小桌子。在基线时，观察到 209 名老年人，而在随访时观察到 329 名老年人。在翻新长椅的 NOS 中，更多（44%）的老年人被观察到。没有观察到两个亭子的使用情况。访谈确定了对老年人使用 NOS 很重要的六个因素：天气、对社会照顾者的支持、对资源丰富的志愿者的支持、组织活动、社会互动和归属感。组织资源，如社会照顾者和志愿者，对于促进老年人使用 NOS 非常重要。社会互动是老年人使用 NOS 的关键因素，健康促进者应优先考虑。
